Dabo Swinney did a lot of due diligence to eventually hire Tom Allen as his new defensive coordinator. Allen, the former Indiana head coach, spent one year at Penn State before coming to Clemson. It’ll surely give a boost to the Tigers’ defense unit after Allen’s stellar job with the Nittany Lions this season.

Allen, he said, wasn’t looking for a job. He was laser-focused on Penn State’s CFP semifinal game against Notre Dame at the Orange Bowl. The Nittany Lions made the field as an at-large team (No. 6 seed) and won games against SMU and Boise State.

Dabo Swinney knows how good he is as a coach and how Clemson is as a program. Despite some outside noise in recent years, he made that clear this week. Clemson hired Tom Allen as the new defensive coordinator following Allen’s single season at Penn State.

Allen, the former Indiana head coach and Penn State defensive coordinator, will make $1.9 million in total salary in 2025, $2 million in 2026 and $2.1 million in 2027. That makes him the highest paid assistant on staff, jumping offensive coordinator Garrett Riley (annual salary of $1.75 million).

Tom Allen wore a weary smile in Penn State's locker room after the Orange Bowl as he surveyed a silent, still group of players hurting over the Nittany Lions' 27-24 loss to Notre Dame. Penn State's defensive coordinator, at least for that moment, tried to find context.

The Clemson Tigers have their next defensive coordinator. Clemson announced Tuesday it hired former Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Allen to the

Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Allen has reportedly emerged as the front-runner for the same job at Clemson. Here is why Dabo Swinney might want Allen.

Tom Allen became Dabo Swinney's fourth defensive coordinator hire. Allen explained Wednesday why he left Penn State after one season.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney wasted no time, as he held an introductory press conference for new defensive coordinator Tom Allen on Wednesday. Allen made it clear how important

Clemson officially introduced Tom Allen as the new defensive coordinator after he left Penn State for the same role with Dabo Swinney's program. In what some have call

After failing to achieve the goal this NCAAF season, Clemson Tigers HC Dabo Swinney decided to make some changes to his staff for the upcoming season.

Over the past few years Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney has been the focal point of more than his share of criticism. Some have called Swinney stubborn, saying that he refused to adapt.